COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of thousands of weddings due to government restrictions. However, many wedding venues are refusing to give refunds to the couples affected. We are told to postpone to a date unsuitable for weddings (eg midweek) or forfeit our payments to the wedding venue. 

No one denies this upheaval has been challenging for the wedding industry. However, the amount of money being asked to forfeit is in the tens of thousands of dollars PER couple. It is hard to imagine why they deserve this much money for so little work done.

Many couples are going through financial hardship at the moment, many are working in essential services and the wedding venues are not been considerate of their situations. 

Currently the Australian Consumer Law is not protecting consumers. This in itself is unfair. If the law is not protecting us, then what is? Fair Trading NSW and the ACCC recommended businesses treat consumers fairly. However we all know that businesses cannot be relied on. We are told to fall back on the terms and conditions laid out in the contract between us and the venues. But the terms vary significantly, some venues do offer refunds, some venues would only give refunds if the original date is resold, which would be impossible with the current ban in place, and some are not refunding at all. 

We as Australians take pride in our value of fairness. We need our MPs and ACCC to step in immediately to uphold this value. 

We would like a reassessment of the current guidelines for event cancellations. We would like wedding venues to do the right thing and give refunds for services not provided.